Jays struggling after trade deadline

TSN Baseball Insider

Archive

The Blue Jays are just 2-5 since the trade deadline passed. That’s not quite the instant success a general manager wants after upgrading their team.

There is nothing more rewarding for a GM than seeing new acquisitions immediately deliver in big moments. There is nothing worse than the team struggling right after the deadline. When things go badly people assume it is because the GM either didn’t do enough or tinkered too much and messed with the chemistry of the team.

Baseball is a game of judgement. We call it evaluations and analysis, but it is really judgment. Front offices judge players and coaches. Coaches judge players, and players judge everyone. How players feel about themselves and their team affects how they perform. It’s true – even if the analytic departments on teams can’t quantify it.

It is easy to judge the Blue Jays performance since the trade deadline and say that GM Ross Atkins didn’t do enough. We will find out in due time if that is right. I don’t like to second-guess. I thought before they played the first game after the deadline that they should have made more impactful moves.

The Jays needed an impact starting pitcher like Luis Castillo or Frankie Montas. Castillo was great in his first start with the Mariners, while Montas was knocked out of the game early in his first start with the Yankees.

I also thought they should have added a left-handed reliever – and that was before Tim Mayza injured his shoulder. I wanted multiple lefties in my bullpen when I was building a roster, putting us in position to better match up with opponents in late innings. Plus, bringing in a lefty reliever can force an opposing manager to use a pinch hitter and burn players off the bench